Cemetery Gates: Developing a Plot

Plot development is an area that many first time writers ignore. They have a story inside them that needs to come out and it is all too easy to make this the focus, instead of creating a plot that has a firm beginning, middle and end. Your readers will only be as passionate about your book as you are if you can create a thread that will capture them in the beginning and hold them to the very end.

The first step of plot development is to outline the general nature of your story. It is very helpful to create a chapter by chapter outline of what you are planning to focus on for your book. This may change once you get into the story, but it is very helpful to have this outline at the beginning. You may also want to create a treatment that is a condensed version of your story. This can assist you in finding plot points that may be weak before they become a problem.

The next step is believability. Readers are savvy and suspension of disbelief will only go so far. It is necessary to create a plot that is believable and one that readers can relate to, no matter what genre you are writing in. Mapping out your plot arc can help you create a believable story.

Last but not least, character development is also central to a good plot. Your characters need to grow throughout the book, not become stagnant. Even in a plot driven novel you have to remember what drives the plot – the characters.

Take the time to plan your novel and your characters. Work out the trouble spots ahead of time and you will be able to create a compelling story that will be published.

In the Big Inning: Writing an Introduction for Your Book

Writing the introduction to a book is sometimes the best part. For this reason, it is also often enough the only part of a book that gets written. For this, and other important reasons, it is a good idea to save it for last. Writing the introduction after the book is complete is good not just to keep you from losing interest after writing the fun part, but it also keeps the content of the intro consistent with the intent of an intro.

Introductions are generally used to provide an overview of the book, and the overview to a book is typically most efficiently done by waiting until the book is actually completed.

Introductions are also places where some authors will take the time to tell the reader what they think, in a way, or to a degree they have not done in the book itself. This is a common practice in non-fiction books written by journalists, for example. Journalists tend to write books that aim to be objective, and so the introduction becomes the place where they can write their opinion.

Introductions, though, more than anything else, should give the reader an idea of what they are in for. Some introductions provide a chapter- by- chapter or section- by -section review, covering the highlights and perhaps a key detail or two.

A book introduction is not unlike an introduction of friends (though the book introduction is certainly longer). The key is to convey a sense of the content, and the manner in which the content is being handled.

Some introductions are used to establish a running metaphor which is used throughout the book, or to introduce key contextual information that is needed to fully understand the material in the book. Whatever the case, relish the writing of the introduction, because it is the fun part, but hold off until the rest of the book is finished so that you can give full and complete overview of the book you are putting in front of your audience.

Where Do the Days Go? - Creating a Writing Calendar

To paraphrase a famous management expert, “that which gets planned, gets done.” Writing of any appreciable length or complexity will have many different parts. Some will be dependent on other parts. Others can be completed on a more or less stand alone basis. The complexity can sometimes seem overwhelming. Many writers break down the project into its component pieces.

Once broken down into manageable chunks, writers will create a structured writing calendar. This helps them to take one piece at a time and create a set of deadlines around completing given parts of the book writing process.

Books that are being written, backed by publishing agreements, are aided by this process because missing a deadline with a publisher can have serious consequences. It is difficult to determine at the outset how long things will take. This is the nature of creative process. A calendar tells you how long you have. For this reason, a calendar can also be a constraint on the creative process. It is important to find the right balance between the need for completion and the need for creative excellence.

For example, a non-fiction writer often engages in significant research activity. In fact, as any writer/researcher can tell you, there will always be more to research. Setting a deadline around when research will end often helps writers to have a cutoff point, after which they will turn their attention to the writing so they can complete the work.

The point of a calendar is not to be a dictator, but to be an aid in helping the writer manage the competing priorities involved in completing the work.

Ghostwriting - Writing Coaching - Editing - Design - Printing

Distribution - Marketing

Call us for a free consultation 918-394-2665

How to Write a Book Proposal - Book Proposal Template

Here is an outline to use for putting a non-fiction book proposal together.  You can get ideas for fiction proposals here: Pub Rants.  If you need help with publishing or book marketing, contact me: thepublishingguru(at)gmail.com

Title:

Subtitle:

Author:

Premise: [Provide a two- or three-sentence statement of the book’s central concept. Often this is worded as a problem and the solution the book provides.]

Benefits: After completing [title], readers will: [List the benefits or takeaway value readers will derive from the book.]

Features: [Explain how the book will deliver the benefits by listing the book’s unique features.]

Overview: The book is divided into [number] sections and [number] chapters.

The Manuscript

Manuscript Status: [State how much of the manuscript is complete.]

Anticipated Length: [number] manuscript pages and word count (# pages x 300)

Anticipated Manuscript Completion Date:

The Market

Characteristics: The target audience for this book is made up of [Describe the demographic characteristics of the target readers, including age, sex, education level, etc.]

Motivations: [Describe the psychographic characteristics of the target readers, including the frustrations, desires, etc., that would motivate them to purchase and read the book.]

Affinity Groups: [List the groups of people, organizations, etc., who are likely to be attracted to the book.]

Differentiation: [Describe the main competition for the book and explain what distinguishes this book from them.]

The Author

Background: [Give a brief biographical description making sure to include information that establishes your credibility or qualifications to the write the book.]

Previous Writing: [List previously published writing, including the name of the publisher, the date of publication, and the number of units sold.]

Possible Endorsers: [List the names of people who are likely to provide a written endorsement of the book.]

Personal Marketing: [Describe what you can do to help the publisher promote the book.]

Chapter Outline: [Provide an annotated outline of the book. This outline should include section titles, chapter titles, and a two- or three-sentence description of each chapter’s content.]

Sample Chapters: [Attach two sample chapters that best represent the book.]

Use this book proposal template to tell publishers about your book and you should be in good shape.

The Cream of the Indie Crop: How Readers Can Find Indie Writers

I recently developed a connection with Amy Edelman of IndieReader.com. After studying the great things they are doing to connect Indie Authors with Indie Readers, I asked Amy to be a guest blogger. She has some thought-provoking things to say. -

The Cream of the Indie Crop: How Readers Can Find Indie Writers

by Amy Edelman
What if the only movies you could see were big Hollywood blockbusters? What if the only food you could eat was the stuff found at those big franchise places? And what if the only books you could read were those over-stuffed bestsellers pumped out by traditional publishers and pushed by the big-box bookstores (for $8.99 a pop)?

The fact is, there's nothing wrong with mass produced food or books or movies, but sometimes people want something different. Sometimes they want to see a movie or eat a meal or read a book that's unique. Something that will surprise them.

That's where indie (aka self-published) books come in. Books created like handmade goods and produced in small numbers. Books that are mostly Print On Demand, meaning no trees are killed until after the books are sold. Why is this so important? Because today more than ever, almost everything we make gets co-opted by corporate culture, turned into a business model, reformulated and churned out like soap to appeal to as many people as possible. In a world where almost everything is packaged by committee, indie books are written with a single voice: the writer's own.

It’s true—and frankly, unfair—that self-published authors have been considered less talented than their traditionally published counterparts. Their books are ignored or looked down upon, not carried by most bookstores and shunned by reviewers. But that is slowly changing. After all, if the work of indie musicians and indie filmmakers command respect, why not the work of indie writers (who, incidentally, published 1/2 million of their own books last year, alone)?

And these books are not just about vanity. More and more of them (Daemon, The Shack, The Lace Reader) are making it to the top of the national bestseller lists. It also helps that successful authors like Stephen King and Dave Eggers are giving self-publishing a go.

So, where does a book-lover go when they want to find something that's not already on everyone else's night table? IndieReader.com, where every book is reviewed prior to acceptance, guaranteeing that book-lovers find--from yummy cookbooks to gorgeous coffee table books, kids, self-help and fiction--the "cream-of-the-indie crop". In its simplest sense, IndieReader (like Sundance for writers) is a venue where consumers can find and purchase books published and produced by the people who wrote them. As opposed to other sites that cater to writers, IndieReader was created for the discriminating consumer (although writers will find tons of helpful information, too). Our monthly, online magazine, The Indie Reader, has featured contributions by designer Isaac Mizrahi, writers Joel Stein (Time magazine), Brunonia Barry (The Lace Reader), columnist Dan Savage and singer/songwriter Joshua Radin and more.